A Proposal for the Small Grants Initiative, Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program, 2003

 

Project Title: The Rural Oil Well: Community participation in tree farming for micro watersheds and oilseed based energy in

 

Submitted by: M. Gopakumar

 

The genesis of this proposal (‘SGI proposal’) lies in the series of lectures that I attended on Climate Change and Global Warming at the first Beahrs ELP in July 2001.   In the search for solutions that could potentially mitigate the impact of global warming, two clear paths exist, defining what countries/communities must do to

-         Generate less greenhouse gases (ie, containment)

-         ‘Absorb’ more greenhouse gases (ie, repair, in a sense). 

 

I had been evaluating options of working on projects that would do either or both of the above  when I  came across SuTRA earlier this year.

 

A profile of  SuTRA – our partner in the proposed programme – and its work

 

A few months ago, I met Prof. Udipi Srinivasa, the Chief Programme Executive at Sustainable Transformation of Rural Areas (SuTRA), which is part of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka (in South India).  IISc is among the finest science-focused research and training establishments in India and Prof Srinivasa’s work in exploring alternative & appropriate, low cost technologies is unique and of very high relevance to rural India.  While working on energy options for rural areas, SuTRA discovered a potentially very large resource in the form of non-edible seeds of many trees.  These seeds contain oil that can directly substitute diesel in generating sets and irrigation pumpsets (which need no modification) and further contain starch and nutrients which have high value as mulch fertiliser. Biofuels have many advantages. They are cheap and renewable, they disperse profits, are safe to store [due to a high flash point], need nothing new to be invented to run engines, are kinder on the engines, have a long shelf life, are biodegradable, release no more carbon di oxide than the trees originally consumed and have cooler, clearer exhausts.

India has a well-established collection and marketing network for non-edible oils, for use in the soaps and lubricants industry and for simple energy needs – lighting lamps at homes being one example.  There are over 300 different species of trees, which produce oil-bearing seeds; therefore, we do not have to pursue monocultures to obtain them.  These trees are native to  regions of India and hardy, often growing on soils classified as ‘degraded’.

 

SuTRA’s prime work has been on a tree called Karanj or Honge (Scientific name: Pongamia pinnata).  Pongamia is a widely occuring tree in Southern and Western India, more particularly in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.  At densities of more than 100 trees per hectare (ie, as a plantation), these trees yield 10 tonnes of seeds per hectare on maturing.  Since 15 to 20 year old trees use the soil upto a depth of 10 metres (unlike agricultural crops which use only 150 mm of topsoil) both the survivability during dry periods and annual output per hectare are better than what could be obtained from many agricultural crops.  Most tree-based oil seeds yield about 25 per cent oil and 70 per cent cake after taking into account losses of around 5 percent in the process of oil extraction using rudimentarty expellers – implying that a hectare of land under Pongamia could potentially yield 2.5 tonnes of oil that has comparable value to diesel as fuel  (Annexure 1). The cake itself has multiple uses, but is primarily superb fertiliser. 

 

 SuTRA has substantiated its research with field projects, including the following:

 

Ó     Dandeli Ferroalloys [Dandeli Town in Karnataka], a corporation established in 1955,is a heavy consumer of electricity. Power forms 60% of their variable costs. P.V.Jose of the company read an early press release about Dr.Shrinivasa's findings on Honge oil and got in touch with him. Coordinating with Dr.Shrinivasa, Dandeli converted all five of their 1 megaWatt diesel engines to run on biodiesel that run satisfactorily today.

Ó     Dr.Shrinivasa prepared a master drought-proofing plan and has been executing it at Kagganahalli village, again in Karnataka. Satellite images were sourced to identify fracture lines in the sub-terrain and from them, deep water sources were identified using electrical sensitivity measurements. Twenty bore wells of depths varying from 200' to 300' were drilled in the project area spread over 40 sq.kM, submersible pumps were let into the wells and a project-level 440 volt grid was created to power the pumps. A 20kM network of 3" pipelines was buried underground with outlets at various farm-heads.  The electricity for this network is provided by the power station comprising two 63 kVA generators that run on Honge oil.  This project was executed at an overall cost of about $ 500,000. (Dr. Shrinivasa’s report is below as an addendum)

 

The Project :

The SGI proposal envisages initiating the work done by SuTRA in Karnataka,  in the rural areas of Hosur which is in the adjoining state of Tamil Nadu, with a particular emphasis on micro watershed management, using oilseed bearing trees.

 

The Problem : 

1. Farms in rural India are increasingly dependent on non-renewable fuels such as diesel and kerosene for their operation, making them vulnerable to regular input cost increases and increasing pollution.

Proposed solution  :  Local bio-fuel availability reduce this dependency, result in substantially higher savings (Refer annexure 1 in proposal for Pongamia economics) and reduce pollution.  Two important  by-product of this are:

§         Impetus to the rural economy, ie, production and trade of rural goods in rural markets.

§         Increased organic fertiliser output from the seed cake.

 

2.High rate of deforestation in most farms in rural India (and particularly in the proposed project area), the available tree cover giving way to non-sustainable high-energy farming systems.

Proposed solution :  Reduce the rate of deforestation by planting indigenous trees of energy value to the farm.   Increase farm income by creating a market for oil-seed bearing tree saplings.

 

3.Neglect of micro water-harvesting structures and community managed resources, leading to a rapid depletion of  the water table in Hosur district.

Proposed solution : Develop micro watersheds, with selected tree species planted on the embankments, with existing local skills.  This will ensure successful replication, after the initial demonstration phase.

 

Why Hosur and why irrigation pumpsets?

Hosur, in Tamil Nadu state, is a primarily rain-fed agricultural area adjoining Karnataka state   in South India and  is about 60 km away from Bangalore.  This area has an above-average density of Pongamia.  Critically, while there is a mediocre home electrification grid in the area, it is deficient in power for agriculture (for which 5 HP pumpsets are required) and an electric connection for pumpsets for open wells takes eight to twelve years to get.  As a result, there are a large number of diesel-based irrigation pumpsets, that could potentially convert to seed based fuels. 

The issues faced by the farmers are

Ü     the rising prices of diesel@ around 15% per annum in the last three years.

Ü     low density of diesel stations in rural India, creating a parallel wholesale economy of stocking diesel, without adequate safeguards (oil seeds based fuel is far less combustible).

Ü     the need to stock sufficient quantities of diesel at the farm level itself.

Ü     high rate of deforestation in the area and the rapid erosion of traditional knowledge.  Pongamia, which was key to the farming system until the seventies, is now considered to be of  low value to the farmer.

Ü     depleting water table in many areas.

Ü     pollution –

o       air - the design of the pumpset is such that the farmer stands next to the exhaust.

o       water –leakage often occurs from the pumpsets into the well.

I have been working with farmers in parts of Hosur to form an organic growers collective to market their products in Bangalore city and therefore am very familiar with the area, the villages that could potentially participate in the program and the ‘pain points’.  SuTRA’s work, I believe, can be well replicated, with their support.  Hence, the choice of Hosur as a project site.

 

What the SGI proposal plans to achieve over a twelve month period of the project is to

 

Focus on integrated micro watershed management and tree-based farming, using Pongamia oil in irrigation pumpsets as an anchor, with

Ü     Two demonstration pumpsets that work on pongamia oil, in the area.

Ü     A farm oilseed-tree management plan – density, planting and so on – integrating with micro-watersheds such as percolation tanks and feeder ponds.

Ü     A nursery, with quality rootstock for sale at nominal value to farmers.

Ü     A business plan for rural communities/entrepreneurs and other stakeholders such as co-operative banks, enabling them to set up expelling units and a basic marketing infrastructure (storage, distribution) for fuel and work on a pricing mechanism.

Ü     A sustained low-cost communication program explaining the concept of tree-based fuel oil and the attendant benefits – mulch, leaf litter, backed up by some ‘concept selling’.

 

Methodology:

 

§         Two farms for the installation of demonstration pumpsets have been identified.

§         SuTRA will provide the requisite training  and initial consultancy and will supply the initial quantities of fuel oil to get the pumpsets operational.   

§         Two Karnataka based non-profit organisations will provide assistance in setting up a quality nursery for Pongamia, which we plan to do in consultation with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.

§         One resource person will be allotted to the project and others hired from the project area on a contract basis.  Building on existing participatory rural appraisals that have been conducted in the project area,  we will encourage community participation in planting and maintenance of trees sold from the nursery, around watersheds. 

 

An FAQ:

 

Question :Why is SuTRA required?

The pioneering work in this area has been done by them; they are familiar with installation, operational and maintenance issues of pumpsets.  They have an existing seed crushing/expelling unit and have tied up with local manufacturers to make such units on demand, a potential phase II requirement for this project (each expelling unit costs about US$ 7,000).

 

Question :How will the UC, Berkeley collaboration help us?

Prof. Dan Kammen’s extensive work in biomass/rural renewables will be of immense value to us and his mentorship, along with the participation of his student/s, will enable exchange of information and data analysis on performance. 

 

Question :Will exclusive focus on Pongamia engender monocultures?

We will begin the project with Pongamia but will work to identify other suitable oilseed-bearing trees for propagation in the area.  Two other trees, Azadirachtin Indica (Neem) and Madhuca Indica (Mahua) have been studied by SuTRA and found suitable – the issue though is that their oil has high opportunity value.  Further, no plantations are envisaged, rather the focus is on oilseed bearing trees around micro watersheds.

 

Question :What is the cost of Pongamia oil per litre? – refer Annexure 1 for Pongamia economics.

 

Question :How will the project be sustained after the SGI grant period?

In order to ensure project sustainability, The Nityata Foundation will commit, over the four years after the first twelve months, an additional sum of $2,500 towards building on the foundation laid by the SGI grant.  This sum would be largely used to pay the salary of a nursery staff member, who will also be adequately skilled in training farmers on the project concept.  

 

Typically, seedlings are sold when they are over a year old and therefore need adequate maintenance.  We do not expect to receive a significant income from sale of saplings – in fact, a major indicator of the project’s long term success would be the establishment of more tree nurseries in the project area.

 

Question :What’s the long term picture?

Over a five year period, we aim to completely transfer the project to the rural community and to set up a learning centre in the project area.  We hope to further focus on carbon sequestration and the potential income generating capacity therein.

 

The potential macro impact of this project (along with other similar projects) is in

Developing a rural infrastructure for oil-based fuels;

Watershed management;

Increased tree cover – control of soil erosion;

Leaf litter as mulch and feed stock for bio-gas;

Seed cake as fertiliser (building on an existing vibrant market);

Creation of a rural economy/livelihoods around collection of seeds, processing and storage of oil.

 

Question :Would this project be accepted well in the area?

Sociological compatibility : Villagers had a tradition of growing a fence of trees on the boundaries of their drylands -  many such fences can be seen even today.  These serve as wind-brakes and help to conserve the moisture obtained by the crops from rainfall and irrigation.  They also provide green leaves and fuel.  Paucity of financial resources and loss of user-base within the rural community have led to the cutting down of these trees and selling them as firewood.  Encouraging farmers to revive this cultural practice of live fencing could lead to a fair population of trees per household.   Honge normally starts yielding in 3 to 4 years.  As the plants grow, the weak ones are thinned out providing a supply of green leaves for composting / green manure (honge leaves are considered  to be hugely beneficial as green manure) , thin sticks for fencing, fuel for cooking and for power generation through gasification.  Generation of grafted saplings in large numbers, SuTRA has found, helps in obtaining early yields in honge.

 

Risks

 

The real risk in this project relates to poor implementation. It iscritical that the first phase of the project be successful for overall project acceptance, because farmers are hard to convince the second time around.

Risk mitigation by:

-         installing local demonstration sites

-         recruiting a local resource person

-         setting up a nursery to ensure adequate supply of saplings

-         networking with two local NGOs and the Forest Department

As with any project, the quality of people recruited is key to its success.  We have identified a couple of  persons who are known to be competent at the field level, to choose from, as well as some local individuals who could be contracted on a need basis.

 

To the best of our knowledge, there is no technology or regulatory/institutional risk involved.

 

References :

Two articles by Dr.U Srinivasa,  SuTRA:

·        Renewable Energy and Rural Poverty

·        A Note on potential for use of tree based seed oils and seed cakes to produce fuels for diesel engine-based power generation

 

Annexure 1

About the Nityata Foundation

 

The Nityata Foundation is a non-profit organisation  which I co-founded along with Surendra Varma (an Asian elephant specialist) and Prof. HS Jamadagni (Head – Centre for Electronic Design, IISc)  to work on

Ü     Technology applications in wildlife conservation

Ü     Wildlife research

Ü     Appropriate alternatives - the work here has largely been so far on the marketing of organic produce.

The Foundation has a contract team of three researchers and others who come in on a need basis. 

Data from SuTRA

Comparison Details

 

Sl. No.

Particulars

Honge filtered

Diesel

1

Saponification value

179.55

NIL

2

Iodine value

82.78

38.3

3

Acid value

16.08

0.062

4

Colour

--

102.5

5

Specific gravity

0.925

0.835

6

Refractive index at 30oC

1.492

1.472

7

Moisture and volatile matter

0.25%

24.66%

8

Viscosity in 30oC

74.14

8.54 CST

9

Cloud point

3oC

13o C

10

Pour point

-2oC

1o C

 

 

Honge economics:  A litre of Honge is equivalent in performance to a litre of diesel.  The price of diesel is Rs. 23 per litre today (and rising at around 12-15% every year).

 

Ü     Pongamia oil is available in expelled form at around Rs.20 per litre, ie, at a 10-15% discount to the price of diesel.

Ü     If a farmer buys the seeds at Rs.3.50 per kilo, has it milled and sells the oil cake at Rs.3 per kg, the cost of the bio-fuel (equal to a litre of diesel) is Rs.9 per litre, ie, a 60% discount to the price of diesel.

Ü     If the farmer collected the seeds free from his land, had it milled and sold the oil cake at Rs.3 per kG, the cost of oil to him was Rs.4 per litre, which is an incredible 80% discount to the price of diesel.

 

Annexure 2:

 

Pongemia as an Alternative to Diesel

 

By Prof. Udipi Srinivasa, Chief Programme Executive, Sustainable Transformation of Rural Areas (SuTRA), Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka (South India)

 

1.1: Introduction

 

                                                This work investigates the performance of non-edible oil Pongemia scientifically termed as Pongemia pinnata when compared to Diesel as a working fuel in a stationary Diesel Engine which is used for irrigation purposes. The before said Diesel Engine is a single cylinder vertical Engine. The injector is one-holed. The specifications of the Engine are listed in Table1.1. Before considering the detailed procedure used for the analysis, it is worth while considering a few points about the non-edible oil Pongemia. Pongemia is an oil obtained by the crushing of dry seeds of Pongemia tree. It has its viscosity more than that of Diesel. The oil is a complete organic fuel and can be safely stored and used when compared to Diesel. One of the reasons for its safe storage is due to the fact that it is less volatile than that of Diesel.

 

1.2: Objective and method of study

 

                                                The main objective of the study is to find the working characteristics of the Engine working on Pongemia, pertaining to the fuel consumption that would closely match with or better the performance under Diesel. The Engine is set to a constant speed and the injection pressures are varied in the range permissible by the Injector. The performance index of the Engine working with Diesel as a fuel is calculated. Performance index is a dimensionless number defined for our simplicity. The Engines used for irrigation purposes are operated almost at a constant load throughout their lifetime. The water output that is produced by the pump coupled to the Engine, assumes more importance than the theoretical load in Kilo Watts acting on the Engine. Taking these factors into consideration, the performance index can be defined as a ratio of the fuel consumption in Kg/s to the water output in Kg/s.

 

Performance Index = Fuel consumption (kg/s)

                                      Water output (kg/s)

 

Since the denominator in the above equation is a constant, the performance index can be stated as a function of the fuel consumption in a given time. It is evident from the discussion that lesser the value of this index higher the performance of the Engine working under the given fuel.

 

1.3: On field values

 

                                    The values which are noted and tabulated in the Tables and are self explanatory. The water output from the pump is 3.6m3/s which is 3.6kg/s, since the density of water is 1000kg/m3.The performance indexes are calculated separately for both Diesel and Pongemia. The values of density of Diesel and Pongemia are 840kg/m3 and 920kg/m3 respectively.

 

1.4: Analysis of the results and Conclusion 

 

                                                The various values obtained can be depicted pictorially as shown in Figure 1.1.From the plot of Injection pressure Vs Performance index it is evident that the performance of the Engine is best under Diesel at 130bar Injection pressure. This is due to the fact that the atomization, combustion and various other activities in the combustion chamber are optimum at this injection pressure. It is also evident from the plot that Pongemia also performs best under the same condition i.e. 130bar injection pressure. It is seen that the performance of Pongemia is good at 90bar however it shows a decline at 110bar and approaches its peak performance at 130bar and declines further at higher pressures of 150bar.

                                                Further the calculations show that 1liter of Diesel is equivalent to 1.0923liter of Pongemia.In other words an Engine can run for 1Hr with 0.616liters of Diesel as a fuel whereas for the same period it requires 0.672liters of Pongemia as a fuel.

 

                                                 Further tests were conducted by mixing the Non-edible oil Pongemia with Diesel in definite proportions ranging from 20% to 80%, however the results pertaining to the performance index obtained in these cases where consistent and adhered to the theoretical concept and no noticeable deviation in the performance index values where noticed.

 

1.5: Further scope

                                             The above study shows that Pongemia is a viable alternative for Diesel; however this fact can be clearly established when the Engine is subjected to further more intense testing for longer periods of duration and under different injection timings. The exhaust also has to be subjected to analysis, Also the Pongemia could be pre- heated before atomization, which could lead to a better performance index.

 

Table-1.1: Specifications of the Diesel Engine.

Feature

Specification

Engine make

DPF Diesel Engine

Speed

650RPM

Power

5 HP

Injector

Single holed

Injection timing

20°

 

Table-1.2: Tabulations of various parameters when working on Diesel.

Injection Pressure

(Bar)

Speed

(rpm)

Time taken for 50ml of Diesel(s)

Average Time(s)

Diesel

Consumption

x10-4(kg/s)

Performance Index

x10-5

 

90

 

550

260

 

258.67

 

1.624

 

4.511

258

258

 

110

 

550

268.5

 

265.5

 

1.582

 

4.394

263

265